Historical Orders of France - The French Third Republic (1870-1945)

The French Third Republic (1870-1945)

• Legion of Honour 1802
• Order of the Public Instruction 1866

The French Republic possessed in Asia, Africa and America a large colonial empire. For the purposes of this huge area, a number of "Colonial orders of knighthood" were established or incorporated.

They were :

• Royal Order of Cambodia (French:"Ordre Royal du Cambodge" (1864)
• Order of the Star of Anjouan (French:"Ordre de l'Étoile d'Anjouan" (1874)
• Order of the Dragon of Annam (French:"Ordre du Dragon d'Annam" (1886)
• Order of Nichan El-Anouar (French:"Ordre du Nichan El-Anouar" (1887)
• Order of the Black Star (French:"Ordre de l'Étoile Noire" (1889)

In addition, the Governor-General of French Indo-China established in 1900 :

• Order of the Merit of Indochina (French:Ordre du Mérite Indochinois").

France had also not enough in the fatherland with the Legion of Honor. The various ministries therefore proposed that they themselves managed and issued orders to:

• National Order of Agricultural Merit (French: "l'Ordre du Mérite Agricole") 1883
• Order of Maritime Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite Maritime”) 1930
• Order of the Social Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite social”) 1936
• Order of Public Health (French:”Ordre de la Santé publique”) 1938
• Orde of the Commercial Merit (French:”Ordre du Mérite commercial”) (1939)
  which was renamed in 1961 "Order of the Commercial and Industrial Merit".

In 1940, a French government was formed in exile . They suggested a knighthood order as:

• Order of Liberation established in 1940 by Charles de Gaulle in London.

The France-remaining government of Marshal Philippe Pétain, the so-called "Vichy government", proposed 2 knighthood orders:

• National Order of Labour (French:"Ordre National Du Travail" 1942
• Order of the Francisque (French: "Ordre de la francisque") 1941